03 November 2008

IPCC on Climate Change and Water

I went to a dinner in honor of UN's 63rd birthday and the many IPCC scientists awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change [promo PDF].

One recipient, Kirk Smith, discussed his work on health and climate change [PDF], and this picture was stunning [click to see full size]

The top panel shows contributions to global warming and the bottom panel shows mortality from "climate sensitive" heath effects. Compare what the US is "giving" to what Africa is "receiving."

In related news, the IPCC released a report on climate change and water last month. In it, they mention the "end of stationarity," i.e., the past is no longer helpful in predicting the future. In other words, expect the unexpected. One example if this is the appearance of "dead zones" -- threatening ecosystems and fisheries -- in places that have never experienced them.

Perkins has written a sequel. As in the first book, his thesis is that the developed world uses "aid" to exploit developing countries. As in the first book, there is little hard evidence of such a conspiracy, but the facts of history tend to support his "theory".

(I've read the first; my comments on the second are based on amazon comments.)

American Rivers criticizes the EPA guidelines for being too weak to have an impact on climate change. Further, they claim that an extension of the definition of "pollution" to include CO2 would give the EPA the authority to regulate GHG emissions -- an idea that's getting a lot of play among climate boffins.